KBO: A Werewolf Boy Claims 4th Win During Crowded Weekend (11/23-11/25, 2012)

A Werewolf Boy Claims 4th Win During Crowded Weekend

	Title	Release Date	Market Share	Weekend	Total	Screens
1	Werewolf Boy	10/31/12	24.80%	550,880	6,015,700	595
2	Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (us)	11/15/12	21.50%	468,965	1,940,783	536
3	Don't Cry Mommy	11/22/12	19.20%	425,916	538,138	444
4	Confession of Murder	11/8/12	15.10%	310,819	2,109,450	382
5	National Security	11/22/12	6.90%	147,759	188,020	310
6	Masquerade	9/13/12	2.80%	62,631	12,064,506	166
7	Rise of the Guardians (us)	11/29/12	2.80%	50,523	56,850	197
8	Iron Bag Man	11/22/12	1.20%	26,250	42,208	119
9	Tone Deaf Clinic	11/29/12	1.20%	25,876	42,251	203
10	Skyfall (us/uk)	10/26/12	1.10%	23,232	2,349,440	122

During the week the Korean box office reached an unprecedented milestone as total ticket sales for Korean films crossed the 100 million mark. 2006 held the previous record with 97.9 and there's still 6 weeks to go in 2012. Unsurprisingly business was once again brisk this weekend as about 2.2 million tickets were shifted, aided in part by a number of strong releases but it was a veteran holdover that held onto the top spot once again. The weekend was up about 25% over last year while the market share came in at a strong 73% (versus last year's 50%) as 7 films in the top 10 were local releases.

A Werewolf Boy posted 550,880 admissions in its 4th weekend which represented a 40% drop and was enough to push it over the 6 million mark. The film finally seems to be losing steam but should still have enough juice to make it over the 7 million mark though anything further is looking less certain at this point. Regardless, an exceptional and unexpected run.

The final Twilight held at number 2 as it slid only 47% for 469,965. Its total is about to cross 2 million but any more major milestones will be difficult form here on out.

Opening at number 3 was the controversial revenge drama Don't Cry Mommy which overperformed as it recorded 425,916 admissions. The pic was likely fueled by the outrage surrounding the real events regarding underage sexual victimization it depicts. It will be interesting to see if the film can maintain its position but reviews on the pic following its Busan bow were not particularly strong.

Confession of Murder demonstrated another strong hold after falling only 25% for 310,819. The film has now comfortably crossed the 2 million mark and will definitely get over 2.5 but 3 million may be a stretch.

Another controversial picture, Chung Ji-young's National Security, had a mild debut at number 5 with 147,759. The difficult film was raved about at Busan but its torture subject is admittedly not a prime box office draw and it is unclear whether its timing to coincide with the presidential elections in Korea will yield returns. Word of mouth will be crucial for this film so it will be very interesting to see how it performs next weekend.

Meanwhile Masquerade receded another 36% for 62,631 but it crossed the 12 million mark on Thursday, which will be its final milestone: an extraordinary run.

Kid's flick Rise of the Guardians opens wide next weekend while the Korean offerings Tone Deaf Clinic (which sold 25,876 tickets in previews this weekend) and 26 Years will bustle into wide release. I am particularly curious about the latter's performance. However, it may once again be a holdover that dominates the frame.

Source: kobis.or.kr


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Sunday night (Korean Standard Time) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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